pipping from the narrow end of egg

[chickenfan]

I wonder if it may be more difficult if an egg has pipped from the narrow end. I guess there is nothing I can do about it.

 

[chrismahon]

I heard someone else spotted this last week and the chick pipped and then hatched Chickenfan. The reasons were thought to be incorrect storage before incubating, but it turned out they were all kept with the narrow end down in trays. So I suppose it just happens sometimes. Hope yours is OK as well. Obviously there is less room to get out at that end.

 

[chickenfan]

Thanks Chris. The chick has hatched overnight. I have two Pekin's hatch in spite of the odds. Perhaps they are a little stronger than other breeds. Great to know that eggs can hatch from any way up. Once the chicks hatch, they seem to scramble over the other eggs though, which must disorientate those a bit. I am putting them under a broody hen when they dry.

 

[chrismahon]

To stop the disorientation caused by the hatchlings scrambling over the remaining eggs we use foam pipe insulation Chickenfan. We cut 5mm lengths off some 28mm pipe insulation (the size of pipe it fits) and sterilise them, placing the eggs on the rings so they don't move. We use one incubator for incubation and another for hatching. This allows us to hatch a double batch. We fill the incubator with 15 -18 eggs and candle at 6 days. Any 'duds' are removed and the incubator filled to its 24 egg capacity. The first batch goes into the 'hatcher' at 18 days and hatches up to perhaps 23 days. The hatcher is sterilised again and the second batch added. We have found it is possible to integrate hatches up to a week apart -any more and there are problems as the chicks have already formed a 'tribe'. Important that when they are integrated they all move into a bigger area together.

 

[chickenfan]

Hi Chris, I haven't quite understood about the pipe insulation. I can see this is very good before the egg hatches (although would it be able to manoevre into position?), but surely once the chick hatches they can scramble over a 5mm ring? Sorry if I'm being very stupid.

 

[chrismahon]

I didn't explain it very well Chickenfan. Pipe insulation comes in 2 metre lengths. Cut 5 mm slices off the end (with a Stanley blade) which forms a ring and place the egg on its side on the ring. This is done when the egg turning stops at day 18. The chicks can pip and get out of the eggs no problem, but when they move around and bang into other eggs that haven't yet hatched those eggs don't move, because they are sitting in the foam ring.

 

[chickenfan]

How clever, thank you Chris! I'll go and look for some today in case more hatch. I'm day 22 and 7 birds have hatched in spite of my error on the humidity, so I can't believe how lucky I am. They've found it quite hard to get on their feet at first with some falling over backwards at first. Presumably as they will be too big, I can't expect many to hatch late? None of the rest have pipped. How long would you leave the incubator running?

 

[chrismahon]

Three days over Chickenfan. I made the mistake of stopping at two days over and cracked open the last unhatched egg. it was still alive and bled to death in the bowl from the cuts from the broken eggshell. Devastated I was!!!! Reason was poor insulation of the incubator (Suro20) delayed the egg that got the coolest. We don't use that incubator now, it is our hatcher.

 

[chickenfan]

Oh dear, you poor thing, Chris. But I'm sure we've all made terrible mistakes with unhatched eggs - just you saw what was inside. I've done much worse setting the humidity wrong.